Notre Dame pulling out of series with Michigan

Notre Dame's football series with Michigan will end after the 2014 season.

The Fighting Irish have opted out of their contract, according to reports Tuesday, for scheduled games in 2015 through 2017.

The storied programs have met on the football field since 1978.

Notre Dame's recent announcement that it would join the Atlantic Coast Conference and play five football games yearly against ACC opponents preceded the termination of the rivalry.

The Detroit Free Press reported that a three-year notice is required to pull out of the agreement and that Michigan received a letter from Notre Dame before Saturday night's game in South Bend, Ind., stating its intentions.

"The decision to cancel games in 2015-17 was Notre Dame's and not ours," Michigan athletic director Dave Brandon said in a statement. "We value our annual rivalry with Notre Dame but will have to see what the future holds for any continuation of the series.

This cancellation presents new scheduling opportunities for our program and provides a chance to create some new rivalries."

The two teams were scheduled to break from their scheduled series in 2018-19, but Michigan had hoped it would resume in 2020.

Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick didn't indicate such a move was coming in an interview with the Free Press after Saturday's matchup.

"It's really important us, given the nature of the two schools, just the affinity between the institutions -- forget football a minute -- it's really important to us, so I'm going to work real hard to keep it as lively and frequent as we can," he said. "It's good for Notre Dame, too. We chatted a little bit tonight, talked about our mutual desire to get this done."